The following contains spoilers for Fire Force Season 3 Episode 23, “Despair Saintess,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Only a few episodes left Fire Force anime as the winter 2026 anime season draws to a close and Fire Force is well on its way to wowing fans with a truly stellar ending. The last episode of season three stumbled a bit with its rushed pace and unsatisfying doppelgangers, while episode 23, “Despair Saintess,” works because it does the opposite. Shonen anime episodes often find strength in a unique focus with a healthy pace, and that's what Episode 23 does.
Episode 23 is one of the best of Season 3, with Shinra and Sho Kusakabe facing a whole new challenge as the eerily calm Haumea repeatedly lectures them and warns them about the power of despair in this apocalypse. While traditional battles of strength vs Fire Forcelike Arthur fighting a dragon, the anime needs a new layer to make that final battle more interesting – and the episode delivers. All the while, it's fascinating to see how the disaster back on Earth has affected familiar characters in different ways as a whole new world begins to take root.
6 anime series better than Fire Force
Fire Force is a great anime, but there are series that are better.
Haumea dominates the battlefield as a master of despair
It is not uncommon for standout episodes in shonen action anime such as Fire Force focus on just one or two stories. This sets episodes like “Despair Saintess” apart from the overstuffed episodes that help set up future events. Even anime like the famous shonen “big three” have both kinds of episodes, with the real winners being the ones that give fans a unique experience from start to finish. Like a newer generation anime My Hero Academia and Demon Slayer are very similar and Fire Force fans will get the same treat with this new episode.
Specifically, this new episode focuses on only two plots, including the fascinating battle of the Kusakabe brothers vs. Haumea and the black flames consuming the world as all the Fire Force companies watch. The earlier plot thread is the main theme of episode 23, and it's great to watch, even if it doesn't take full advantage of what it's doing. Unlike the brief and often unsatisfying battles against the doppelgangers, Shinra and Sho feel like underdog superheroes when they take on the Saints of Haumea. The brothers should have fought side by side a long time ago, they felt different yet similar when facing the perfect defense of Haume. Sometimes shonen anime is just right when the heroes are helplessly slapping themselves against the wall and pushing the tension to the max.
One of the best shonen anime series of 2026 is officially ruined forever
The Winter 2026 anime was amazing, but one of its most anticipated releases was ruined forever.
There's no resolution in sight for now, and that's part of the point of this episode. Even the strongest Fire Force the fighters would be ineffective against Haumea's holy power of Karma, as she would enjoy divine protection against all attacks. She can randomly throw Shinra and Sho back without seriously harming them, making her the perfect endgame villain when she's defending the Great Cataclysm. Haumea does not want to kill; instead, he wishes to break Shinra's spirits with sheer despair and in turn use Shinra's despair to complete a worldwide catastrophe.
Guess the anime from emoticons.
Start
Guess the anime from emoticons.
Easy (120s) Medium (90s) Hard (60s)
This creates a remarkable personal battle for Shinra, who is not fighting Haumea, Inka, and Sumire, but his own heart, and it's a battle he can't afford to lose. Shinra has always been a young man of hope and courage as a self-proclaimed superhero, until he feels like a Deku-esque symbol of peace. But while Deku's battles were mainly external in My Hero AcademiaShinra is in it and seems to be losing. No powers of fire can overcome it, not even the power of friendship, and it's a much-needed obstacle to Haume's calm confidence in what she's doing. In this ideological battle, Haumea is slowly but surely pushing Shinra back, and Shinra is already dangling by her toes, and this will pump up the fans to see how she turns it around in the next installment.
Benimaru is a beacon of hope and change
The important thing is that the new episode Fire Force ensures that the stakes of Shinra's battle against Haumea are put into context, all to good effect. The episode spends enough time on this level of conflict without stuffing it or feeling messy, which helps reinforce the Adolla clash to make Episode 23 so strong and focused. For several episodes now, Fire Force depicted the Great Cataclysm as giant fires and doppelgängers ravaging the world, but this time it's definitely the end of time. Black flames engulf everyone and everything, while Akitaru Obi's assassination drives Shinra's subsequent fury over the edge. Shinra and the world feed off each other's defeat and it's a wonder to behold.
Fire Force: Each main character's age, height and birthday
Fire Force Season 3 Part 2 is currently airing and here's what you need to know about Shinra, Maki and Company 8.
The episode still manages to end on a strangely positive note, allowing episode 23 to feel tonally balanced and nuanced beyond destruction or horror. Company 7's steadfast Shinmon Benimaru sets a personal example by relaxing and pouring a few drinks as the fury of the Great Cataclysm approaches, allowing Asakus to face the end with joy – or at least freedom from fear. Benimaru in particular is at peace with the new world forming around him as the Soul Eater moon smiles broadly, almost as if Benimaru is toasting the end of one anime story and the genesis of another. For both Fire ForceSelf-needs and meta-narratives work wonders, reminding fans that this endgame is defined by the emotions of humanity, not just firepower or prophecy.
- Release date
-
July 5, 2019
- Network
-
TBS, MBS, CBC, Tulip Television, BSN, tys, NBC, HBC, RKK, i-Television, SBS, IBC, BSS, MRO, OBS, TUF, RSK, TUY, tbc, RKB, SBC, KUTV, RBC, UTY, RCC, MRT, atv, MBC
- directors
-
Sho Sugawara, Ryota Aikei, Tetsuharu Nakamura, Yuya Horiuchi, Kazuomi Koga, Daisuke Chiba, Kyohei Suzuki, Yuushi Ibe, Shuuji Miyazaki
- Writers
-
Yoriko Tomita
- Franchise(s)
-
Fire Force
-
Gakuto Kajiwara
Shinra Kusakabe (voice)
-
Yusuke Kobayashi
Arthur Boyle (voice)
- Haumea is an effective endgame villain.
- Focus on human emotions.
- The Great Cataclysm contextualizes Shinra's struggles.
- Haumea feels a little too monolithic as a threat.
- Sho has limited influence.
